What breaks most · 1997 to 2026 model years
Dodge Durango problems by year
Owners have filed 13,744 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Dodge Durango across model years 1997 to 2026. Three years stand out: 1999 for suspension complaints, 2005 for fuel system complaints and 2004 for engine complaints. The quietest years are 1997, 2009 and 2024.
- Years to check closely: 1999, 2005, 2004
- Fewest complaints: 1997, 2009, 2024
- Complaints on file
- 137441997 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 19991967 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 674367 fires · 720 injuries · 119 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 68kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 151Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 2 | Suspension (2) | |
| 965 | 52 | 6 | Suspension (540) | |
| 1967 | 106 | 5 | Suspension (1102) | |
| 1075 | 118 | 4 | Suspension (507) | |
| 665 | 60 | 7 | Suspension (265) | |
| 423 | 35 | 6 | Suspension (144) | |
| 339 | 29 | 6 | Suspension (91) | |
| 1115 | 45 | 9 | Engine (326) | |
| 1567 | 38 | 9 | Fuel system (539) | |
| 851 | 16 | 10 | Fuel system (398) | |
| 191 | 12 | 4 | Fuel system (38) | |
| 97 | 3 | 2 | Air bags (26) | |
| 12 | 1 | 4 | Air bags (3) | |
| 798 | 15 | 8 | Electrical system (514) | |
| 639 | 16 | 10 | Electrical system (346) | |
| 640 | 20 | 11 | Electrical system (290) | |
| 782 | 23 | 11 | Exterior lighting (259) | |
| 503 | 26 | 4 | Exterior lighting (196) | |
| 160 | 23 | 3 | Exterior lighting (53) | |
| 211 | 9 | 2 | Exterior lighting (80) | |
| 229 | 9 | 5 | Electrical system (86) | |
| 141 | 4 | 4 | Exterior lighting (45) | |
| 54 | 0 | 2 | Exterior lighting (21) | |
| 199 | 9 | 8 | Exterior lighting (90) | |
| 56 | 2 | 7 | Exterior lighting (25) | |
| 29 | 2 | 2 | Exterior lighting (10) | |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (5) | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (4) | |
| 12 | 1 | 0 | Unknown or other (4) |
What fails on the 1999 Dodge Durango
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 56% |
1102 | 9 | Shop suspension parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 14% |
281 | 6 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 9% |
181 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 9% |
181 | 18 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 9% |
170 | 7 | Shop steering parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 8% |
154 | 28 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 3% |
58 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 1999 Dodge Durango |
| Air bags | 3% |
50 | 40 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
While driving my car stalls out, i keep having problems with ball joints, my sway bar or chain has busted, seat belt for driver will not retract, rust and erosion has been so bad that i actually had to replace the whole front bumper assembly, and i have no heat.
-
Fuel overflows when you fill the tank up. Gas kicks back smell gas fumes while parked some times. Dealer says its not covered. But there is a recall.
-
Blown enegine due to cyclinder misfire and bnding rod caused by faulty cowl panel. This happened when it rained i went to start enegine and it blew
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Dodge Durango years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1999, 2005, 2004 carry the most filings on the Dodge Durango. The 1999 alone has 1967 complaints, led by suspension.
What is the most common Dodge Durango problem?
On the 1999 model year, the most-reported component is suspension with 1102 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Dodge Durango problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Dodge Durango complaints that include mileage is about 68,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.